


Inkshipsweek 2020

by Shadowinflame



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Multi, Offscreen character death, Passive!Nightmare, Sad Ending, Uncorrupted!Nightmare, most of these can be read as anything ranging from platonic to romantic i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24981055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowinflame/pseuds/Shadowinflame
Summary: Inkshipsweek 2020!Hosted by the amazing Old_Desert on Tumblr!Prompts will be in the title, Pairings in the summary, warnings in the notes!
Relationships: Sans & Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 106





	1. Day 1: Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ink x Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW/TW: I don't think there are any necessary for this one, please tell me if I missed something though!

Something had been off with Ink today. Or actually, something had been off for a while now. It started with the self-proclaimed protector showing up without his backup, or not showing up at all whenever the gang raged havoc in another AU. Sometimes he would randomly disappear and not even Dream knew where to.

Killer was surprised to come across Ink after another of his weird actions. It was in the waterfall area of the AU they had been fighting in only moments ago, Ink was sitting in the small cave behind a waterfall, clothes completely drenched already.

Ink and Killer started meeting outside of battle some time ago. But just a few weeks later Ink started acting weird and Killer was concerned. He didn't want to believe that he may be the reason the other was troubled and acting up; but if he was, he at least wanted an explanation as to why. They may be enemies on the battlefield, but he got to know a different side to the paint-covered skeleton. 

If anyone were to see them together, they would probably describe their bond as any form of 'weird', but there was something that got them closer than anything else. They could see the other's trouble with their emotions from a different point of view.

And so it was, that the moment Killer sat down next to the other, he already knew what was wrong. He easily noticed the dull, colourless eyes, normal for any other skeleton, yet so unnatural to see on Ink. He hadn't been taking his vials.

“Ink”, Killer finally spoke.

Ink looked up and Killer was glad that whatever little amount of colour was left in Ink's system made him recognize the person sitting next to him. “Killer?”, Ink asked, barely any emotion in his voice.

“You haven't taken your paints, have you?”, Killer asked.

“No”, Ink answered simply.

Killer sighed. This would be hard, but he was not going to force Ink to do anything. “Why?”, he asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I call myself the protector of AUs”, Ink started, “and yet, all I really care about is to not be forgotten, to the point where I'm willing to doanything they want for the smallest piece of attention.” Ink turned to look at Killer, eyes still as emotionless as before. “Talking to you made me look back at all the AUs I could have saved. If I had done something, you might not be 'Killer' now.” Ink laughed bitter: “I'm just pathetic, useless, a nuisance to everyone, aren't I?”

“You are only following your own motivation”, Killer told him. “Your goal is to not be forgotten, so what about it? Can't exactly say that a lot of us have better things they are working towards.”

“Is it really alright? To harm so many for my own good? Maybe I should just... stop. Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad if I just ..disappeared.”

Killer watched as the last bit of colour drained from Ink's eye sockets and he slowly fell forward. With a sigh, Killer caught the artist. “It's alright”, he whispered. “I forgive you. So please, don't leave just yet. Because there's someone who really cares about you.”

Killer wasn't sure if Ink even heard him, though, he secretly prayed he did. And so, he waited, with Ink in his arms, looking at the unmoving form of the artist that almost looked like he was sleeping peacefully, even though the 'protector' was basically dead, waiting for a splash of colour to revive him.

Killer waited until he felt Dream walking into their direction. He was searching for Ink. 

Killer gently placed Ink down, then teleported away. Dream would find him soon enough. Dream would 'revive' him again. Ink would probably forget the events of that day anyway, by the time he awoke again.

That was alright. Killer would tell him these words as many times as Ink needed to hear them.


	2. Day 2: Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ink x Asgore (probably platonic? But I ain't judging)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: offscreen character death  
> sad ending

Some friendships aren't meant to last. Out of everyone, especially Ink should know this. He had seen it all before, after all.

And yet, he couldn't help himself, using the wet earth as a portal for the umpteenth time.  
The moment he stepped through, he was greeted with the familiar birdsong and the smell of flowers; and the ever present patterer of someone watering the flowers.

“It's a beautiful day, isn't it?”, was what Ink was greeted with.

“It is indeed”, he answered.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”, Asgore asked.

“Gladly”, Ink answered with a smile. He sat down between the flowers while he watched Asgore prepare the tea. “So, how is the human doing?”, Ink asked, even though he already knew the answer, having checked the timeline before he came here.

“Sans is waiting for them in the corridor”, Asgore told him after a short silence. “They will arrive there rather soon, I fear.”

“You won't be able to offer them tea if you make some for me now”, Ink joked.

“I'll just have to make some more when they arrive here.”

“I don't think they are the patient kind though”, Ink said, absent-mindedly picking one of the golden flowers he was surrounded by. He ripped it's stem off and placed the flower into the tea Asgore handed him.

“So, how's it been?”, Ink asked.

“It's.. becoming lonely around here”, Asgore answered truthfully. “Alphys evacuated most of Hotland before the human got there. I hope they made it.” For a moment, Asgore looked just as old as he was, but then he smiled again and said: “But, let's talk about some nicer things, won't we? How was your day so far?”

“Oh, just the good old walking around and painting things, you know how it is”, Ink smiled and carefully took a sip of his tea. Good as always. He told himself that it was the tea that made him come back, not the conversations. The tea was better than any other, wasn't it? There was something special about this one. “I like your tea”, he blurted out without even thinking. Or rather, it was his train of thoughts that lead him to say this, even though he never meant to voice his thoughts.

All it earned him from Asgore was laughter, hearty and genuine. It wasn't the first time Ink told him this, after all. “I am glad you enjoy it so much”, Asgore finally said. “It is good to appreciate the small things.”

It was, wasn't it? Ink stared down at his now empty cup of tea, the flower he places in earlier now sitting at the bottom, sad and lonely. He picked it up and shoved it into his mouth. It tasted like happiness and for the first time in forever he despised it, so completely off in the current situation.  
Ink stood up from where he sat on the ground and searched his pockets for something. “I'm afraid I have to leave again”, he said, holding a folded piece of paper in front of himself. “I drew this for you. Sorry it took me so long. You can tell me what you thought of it the next time we meet.”

With a smile he handed the paper to Asgore. And only seconds later he disappeared through another portal.

“Don't get attached, you'll only be disappointed. Don't talk to them, don't even think about coming back. Don't interfere with the timelines. Don't change anything”, Ink mumbled to himself, the moment his feet came into contact with the doodlesphere again. Damn this, damn everything, _screw the creators!_  
It shouldn't _hurt_ like this.

Somewhere far off, in a genocide timeline lay a beautiful picture of a field filled to the brim with golden flowers, two unrecognizable figures sitting down next to each other; now splattered with blood and abandoned.  
_Thank you for the tea_


	3. Day 3: Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ink x Dream  
> (I know, the cliché ship, but I just really like these two idiots)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's supposed to be fluffier than the last one, I don't think it needs cw's?

“I'm telling you, you really need to sleep”, Ink mumbled, already way too tired himself.

“And I'm telling you, we need to be awake and ready in case we're needed! Danger won't wait for you to wake up!”, Dream told him sternly.

Ink knew the guardian was right, but he hated agreeing with him. Especially if the bags under his sockets were already visible from a mile away. Dream always managed to play it off so well, but his body couldn't lie the way his mouth did. No matter how many times he would deny it himself, even the guardian of positivity needed sleep every now and then.

Determined to get him to sleep today, Ink hugged the other who sat next to him on the sofa and mumbled: “Go to sleep Dreamy.”

Dream wanted to protest, say that he was perfectly awake and not tired at all. But, all that was knocked out of him the moment Ink let himself fall backwards so that he lay on the sofa and Dream lay on top of him. Staying awake while sitting was one thing, but the second they lay down, Dream felt the weight of the whole world press down on his bones. _Stars, he was tired._

And so, all he managed to get out was an extremely sleepy: “Noo, Ink.”

“I will make you sleep and there is nothing that can stop me”, Ink chuckled while his hands ran up and down Dream's back softly. Then he started humming a tune Dream knew all too well, but wondered when Ink caught on to it.

“That's not fair, Ink”, Dream protested. But the hands on his back and the soft humming of the other lulled him in faster than he'd like to admit.

“See?”, Ink teased him, “You are tired.”

“I'm not”, Dream mumbled, absent-mindedly resting his head on Ink's chest, enjoying the warmth of the other. The lack of sound coming from Ink's chest – out of lack of a soul – might have bothered anyone else, but it gave Dream a feeling he could only describe as home. Cuddling up to the other like this, Dream was asleep faster than he would later admit.

Ink smiled to himself, another successful mission.  
If he had to guess, Dream probably just agreed to stay the night because he wanted Ink to convince him to sleep. The positive guardian was by far not perfect, but some of his flaws were really cute. Ink just hoped nobody would ever try to use it against him. 

Dream would deny himself sleep until he just passed out and Ink hated it - but the guardian was unable to say no to anyone. So Ink casually asks him to stay the night and then cuddles with him until he falls asleep. It had become somewhat of a routine for them, Ink taking care of Dream's sleep schedule as good as he could.

Still humming, he picked Dream up and carried him to the bedroom, laying him down on the bed. He then got in next to the other and covered them with a blanket. 

Maybe he would try to make breakfast for them in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to fluff, please tell me how it went?


	4. Day 4: Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Blue x Ink x Dream | Star Sans Poly!  
> Because you get Green from Blue and Yellow xD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a silly idea of mine, because I like cute boys in dresses.  
> Blue gets a little upset about Dream's outfit, but they end up having a talk about it. There shouldn't be anything triggering about this, but let me now if Imissed something!

They agreed to have a picnic today, take a day off and spend some time together, just the three of them. The weather was perfect, the AU they had chosen peaceful, just...

“I don't know whether we're early or he's just late”, Ink mumbled. Tired of waiting, he lay down in the grass.

It took some convincing, but in the end everyone agreed with Dream's plan. Ink was to get Blue, while Dream would organize the food.

“I'm sure he'll be here any moment”, Blue reassured Ink. 

He had just finished his sentence as a portal opened next to them and the bright golden skeleton walked through it, a basket in his hand.

“Sorry to make you wait”, Dream smiled.

“Finally”, Ink sighed, sitting up.

“Dream?”, Blue asked, “what are you wearing!?”

“Hmm?”, Dream looked down at himself, a little confused. “Oh”, he laughed, “I wanted to wear something more comfortable and fitting for a picnic, instead of my battle outfit.”

“Yeah, but.. a dress?”, Blue seemed irritated. 

“Hey, Blue, what's wrong?”, Ink looked between the two, confused. 

“Aren't you a boy? Boys shouldn't wear dresses!”

“Let him wear what he wants”, Ink shrugged. “It is pretty warm, a dress would have been a great idea, actually!”

“Tch, fine!”, Blue said, crossing his arms and looking away.

“Are you alright?”, Dream asked concerned. “Does it.. make you uncomfortable? Sorry, I didn't mean to..”

“I don't get it, okay?”, Blue said, refusing to look at anyone. “Dresses are for girls. Do you want to be seen as a girl? Because that's just weird.”

Dream blinked twice, a little shocked at Blue's outburst, before he answered: “Wearing a dress has nothing to do with my gender. I wear a dress because I like it, because it is comfortable.”

“I doubt that gender really means a lot to him anyway”, Ink laughed, “I bet anything looses it's meaning after 500 years.”

“Hey!”, Dream pouted. “You said you would stop making jokes about my age!”

“Yeeaah, sorry, your face is so worth it!”

Blue couldn't help but laugh at that. He had turned around to look at his boyfriends and Ink was right, Dream's face was worth it.

“See”, Ink said, still laughing, “even Blue thinks it's funny!”

“Well, I'm glad this lifted your spirits, Blue”, Dream smiled while he started unpacking the food he brought, “Though, mind telling us why you got so upset at my outfit?”

“I always wanted one”, Blue mumbled, almost inaudible. “I looked at a dress _once_ and Papy told me they are for girls and I couldn't wear one because I'm a boy. I would search some in the garbage dump and secretly wear them, but one day he found my collection and he was super mad and... I haven't touched a dress since then.”

“Stars, Blue, I had no idea!”, Dream said.

“Sounds quite dramatic”, Ink said with a smile as he got up from where he sat and summoned his paintbrush. Before anyone could ask what he was up to, he splashed paint at Blue in one swift motion. Once the paint settled, Blue wore a beautiful light blue dress.   
He only got a glimpse at it however, before his vision blurred with all the tears that suddenly flowed out of his sockets.

“Aaah, sorry, did you want a different colour?”, Ink asked.

“No, no this is good”, Blue cried, “Stars, it's perfect! But, how am I supposed to explain this to Papy when I get back?”

“We'll just have to have a talk with your brother”, Dream shrugged.

“Yeah, or we just don't bring you back at all”, Ink smiled. “I still have a lot of room where I life.”

“You just want someone to make breakfast and get the dishes done”, Dream scolded him.

“Dream, what do you think of me?”, Ink asked playfully. “I'm offended!”

“Well, hello offended, I am Dream”, Dream smiled as he held out a plate with a slice of pie on it. “And you should try the pie, because I put all my love for you into it.”

“Oh, can I have a slice of your love as well?”, Blue asked.

“But of course! You know I have enough love for both of you!”

And just like that, they shared pie and smiles and kisses and a lot of other gestures to symbolise just how strongly the felt for each other.  
Even if it was just this one moment, barely the blink of an eye in the chaos that their lives were, for now they could be happy.


	5. Day 5: Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ink x Blue/Blueberry/US!Sans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Using my wild card to present you two characters from a longer fic I have planned, but not started yet!  
> All you need to know is that Blue is a healer/alchemist who lives in a cottage in the woods. One day, someone just dropped off Ink and left. Blue took him in and quickly figured Ink has a chronic disease that will end lethal. He told Ink, because he saw no use hiding it from him. Now he just tries to make it easier for Ink.  
> (Fic is still at the worst stage of a wip, but, yeah...)
> 
> I know that less people will read this, but to those who do, I'm incredibly grateful!

“Ink, how many times do I have to tell you”, Blue sighed, “you can't. I won't allow you to. You know it'll worsen your condition again.”

“Blue, please”, Ink begged. “This is a once in a lifetime chance! And I know you want to go, too!”

“It's a meteor shower, Ink, it's just-”

“Flaming rocks, falling out of the sky!”, Ink cheered. “How amazing is that!? Please, Blue. I promise I will help you with your ..uuh potions and stuff! Just, just please?”

With a sigh, Blue sat down on Ink's bed. “You.. are aware of all the possible consequences? In your condition-”

“Can we.. not talk about it?”, Ink asked, looking down. “I know that it'll kill me eventually, does it really make a difference if it'll happen sooner or later? I just.. what is the meaning of me still living, if I can't even go out to see the meteor shower?”

“I'm still sorry I can't heal you.”

Ink moved over on the bed and hugged Blue. “It's alright”, he said. “It isn't your fault.”

For a moment Blue leaned into the hug. With a sigh he said: “Help me prepare dinner?”  
He had made up his mind.

Saddened, Ink let go of him and got off the bed. “Yeah, sure”, he said.

“Hmm?”, Ink looked at Blue confused. “Why are you wrapping that up?”

“I thought we'd have a little picnic, seeing as we won't have time to eat before we go out. If you want a good view, we still have some ways to go”, Blue smiled. “And now, go get your jacket, it's about time.”

“Wha- wait, what?”, Ink's dull eyes lit up, just the smallest bit. “You mean, we..?”

Blue just nodded, still smiling. Ink was right, he deserved to go outside again, to see some things that bring him joy. His illness kept him locked in Blue's small cottage for way too long already.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”, Ink almost sang as he walked back to his room to grab his jacket.

The climb was hard as it was, but it was even harder on Ink. They had to stop several times for him to catch his breath again, and Blue started questioning, whether he really made the right decision.

“Ink?”, Blue asked, looking behind himself.

Ink was leaning against a tree, holding himself up with one hand, while the other messed up the fabric of his jacket right above his chest. 

“I'm fi-”, Ink tried, but started coughing midway through it.

“Oh, no, no, no, Ink!”, Blue screamed, stumbling back the few steps he was ahead, dropping the basked with their food in the process. “Breathe. Damn it, Ink, breathe!”

Healing magic already flaring up on his hands, Blue managed to catch Ink just before he fell to the ground. Ink clung to Blue's jacket like he was a lifeline - which he never was - all the healing magic did was soothe the pain. 

It took a while for the coughing to stop, it always did. And by the time Ink could breathe normally again it was already getting dark around them.

“Sorry”, Ink breathed, barely audible. “I guess, in the end it really was a bad idea, heh. Maybe we should go back.”

“We're almost there, Ink”, Blue said, hugging Ink closer. “We'll get there, even if I have to carry you!”

And carry him he did, ignoring Ink's complaints. He knew Ink couldn't walk anymore, having spend all his energy in that coughing fit. So Blue picked up the basked he dropped, handed it to Ink, then picked up Ink and carried him the last few steps of the way. The moment they reached the top of the hill, they could see the sun setting behind the trees in the distance.

Blue sat Ink down and started unpacking their dinner onto a blanket he brought. With a smile he handed Ink a sandwich.

“You know”, Ink said, taking a bite of his sandwich, “how they say, if you make a wish to a shooting star it'll come true?”

“I heard something like that”, Blue told him.

“Well, do you.. believe it?”

“It would be nice, wouldn't it?”, Blue huffed. “But, don't be disappointed if it doesn't work.”

“I couldn't possibly be”, Ink laughed. “Oh, was that-?”, Ink nearly dropped his sandwich.

“Yeah, seems it started”, Blue nodded. And with a smile he added: “Well, make a wish if you want.”

Ink finished eating faster than Blue had ever seen him do – even though he told him to take it slow, wouldn't want any more bad things to happen that evening – and then used both hands to point out all the amazing things he saw flying across the night sky. 

Looking at Ink like this, dull eyes lit up with more colour than he would've ever seen in them, even if all it would ever be was a reflection of the stars' lights, Blue felt both happy and sad at the same time. For the boy, so happy at an evening as simple as this - the boy he couldn't save from his inevitable fate.

Still smiling, Ink let himself fall backwards onto the blanket. He was almost falling asleep when he saw a small light fly by in front of him.

“Huh?”, he let out in his confusion. “Is that a..?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, a firefly!”, Blue smiled as he looked over to Ink.

“Beautiful!”, Ink breathed as more and more little bugs lit up around him.

Blue also extended his hand towards one of the bright spots flying around them as he started humming a tune Ink didn't quite recognize. 

Exhausted from the climb but happy and lulled by the song Blue was humming, Ink fell asleep.

With a sigh and a slight smile, Blue started packing the things up again. Then took Ink and walked back to their cottage. 

That night, he prayed to all the gods he never believed in for the small chance of their wishes being fulfilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Owl City's "Fireflies" wouldn't leave my head and that for two weeks, I have no excuse.  
> Also, this is probably the longest I've written for this event, and also the one i'm least happy with. Eeeeh.


	6. Day 6: Purple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ink x passive!Nightmare  
> (I know Dream and Nightmare are canonically 6 years old before the incident, but screw canon? Or maybe the accident never happened? Decide for yourself!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No CW's, but here are some fun facts about this specific drabble!  
> This was kinda a collab, but not really. I sat together with my beta, my partner and a good friend and had them give me a bunch of one-sentence and dialogue prompts, then threw all of it together and tried to make something from it.  
> It was a really fun experience!

“I told you, I can't just leave the tree!”, Nightmare said, clearly torn between his duty and the offer. 

“Fine, look”, Ink sighed and took his paintbrush. Nightmare couldn't quite follow what Ink was doing, but once he was finished there was some form of structure around them and the tree.

“Huh? What have you done?”, Nightmare asked, walking around to touch it. “Is this glass? How did you.. did you just put the tree in a giant _greenhouse_ or something? Sorry to disappoint, but I doubt a little glass will stop anyone-”

“Try it”, Ink demanded. 

Nightmare did as he was told. He stemmed against it with all the force he could muster, threw rocks – nothing happened. No dents or cracks. “What? How-?”

“I'm telling you, this isn't just some boring glass”, Ink chuckled. “Magic infused and all that good stuff. No one will touch your precious tree, so now you can spend the evening with me, right?”

“Well, yeah, I think so”, Nightmare answered, still a little confused. “But, that must have taken a lot of energy, are you good!?” Not that he knew anything about magic, unable to use any himself. But, building an unbreakable glass wall around a giant tree must have been no easy feat. 

“Ah, that was easy, no worries”, Ink chimed. “Barely even felt it. And now, let's go!” Ink walked over to Nightmare and grabbed his hand, then teleported both of them outside of the walls.

Nightmare knew that none of his protests would have been heard by the energetic artist. If he had his mind set on something, he wouldn't take no for an answer; and somehow, Nightmare found himself enjoying that a little more than he would like to admit. He found a good friend in the other, a nice distraction from the things he had to face every other day. Of course, nobody could ever replace his brother, but while Dream was away during the day, Ink was as good a replacement as he could wish for.

They walked towards the forest Nightmare knew Dream spent some time in one of these days. 

They used to play in there, years ago, as children; before the villagers came and Nightmare understood the meaning of being called a guardian. He always wondered what it would be like to walk through the forest again, but only ever saw it from afar, from his place on the branches of the tree.

The moment they stepped in, the air around them changed. It was colder, the sun not coming trough the thick leaves, but it wasn't unpleasant. Nightmare recognized the scents of different flowers, blooming where at least a little light managed to shine through. The forest had grown without him. It felt like revisiting and old friend after years of being apart.

Many things changed and yet a lot stayed the same and so it was that Nightmare knew where they were headed even before he saw the clearing. Ink spread a blanket across the grass – wait, where did he pull the blanket from? No way he carried it the whole time – and they both sat down.

“You should leave the tree more often”, Ink said while handing his sketchbook and a pencil to Nightmare.

“I told you, I can't”, Nightmare huffed, accepting the sketchbook. “Someone has to protect the tree.”

Ink sighed and picked some flowers. He attempted to make a flower crown but ended up eating most of them. Nightmare just looked around for a moment and decided on something he would try to sketch. Ink took it upon himself to teach the small guardian how to draw. They ended up sitting like that for a while.

A slight wind had picked up, rustling their clothes and the fallen leaves around them, as Nightmare looked up from the sketchbook and over at Ink.

“We should go back”, he said.

Ink swallowed another flower before asking: “Why?”

“It'll start raining soon”, Nightmare sighed.

“What makes you think that?”, Ink asked, looking around.

“I just.. feel it.”

“Fine”, Ink said, placing the finished flower crown on Nightmare's head. “Fits perfectly”, he laughed.

Then both of them stood up and started walking back to the tree, the sun setting behind them, colouring the sky in all shades of red and yellow.

They were halfway trough the forest when the birds and cicadas stopped singing.

“We better hurry”, Nightmare said and by the time they reached the forest entrance even Ink could see the dark clouds approaching.

The sky was burning behind them while a storm was raging in front of them as they both finally made their way to the tree. 

“Turns out you were right”, Ink admitted., then looked up to the sky. “That's quite the downpour.”

“Yeah, I started learning the signs of rain or thunderstorms”, Nightmare laughed, “Not that it is of any use to me - it isn't exactly dry under this tree either.” But right after he said that, he felt something like a blanket over his shoulders, blocking the rain.“What?” Purple and resembling a cape – it reminded him of the one he made for his brother.

“Because I can't stay here to keep you warm forever”, Ink smiled as he sat down next to Nightmare and hugged him.

“Idiot”, Nightmare mumbled, but leaned into the hug, slowly falling asleep.

He didn't know how long Ink stayed, but Nightmare didn't wake up when he left and Ink was gone before Dream came back from the village.


	7. Day 7: Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Taking my artistic freedom and using Ink x Dust for pink!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cw's necessary, I think.
> 
> Todays drabbly was inspired by [this Twitter Post!](https://twitter.com/see_starling/status/1261812471959973888)

Dust stepped out of the portal, clutching the small bundle in his hands a little closer. 

Outertale. He still liked the stars. He knew that, to Ink, this probably made him just as boring as every other classic Sans out there and it really bothered him, but he couldn't help it. It just meant he had to keep him entertained with different things.

Speaking of the artist, he already sat at their usual place, far from all the populated areas of the AU, waiting. Dust never considered the other one of the patient kind, and yet, he always waited for him. He didn't want to stress his luck too much, but he really hoped these meetings between them – without fights, actually talking – could last just a little longer. He wouldn't admit it, if asked by anyone of the gang, but he really liked Ink, in a way he couldn't quite comprehend.

Ink was once again absorbed into the process of drawing and didn't notice that Dust sat down beside him before the other spoke.

“Hi, Ink”, he said.

“Oh, Dust!”, Ink chimed, “I didn't notice you arrived here! Hope I didn't ignore you for too long?”

“Ah, no, I just arrived a minute ago”, Dust told him. “Did I.. make you wait?”

Ink shook his head: “I haven't been here for that long either. And this time, I actually remembered the right time for our meeting without looking!”

“That's great!”, Dust smiled and he couldn't help the blush slowly creeping up on his face. “See, I told you your memory could get better with some proper training!” Looking down, he noticed that the other's scarf was clean for once. Well, he did say he followed Dust's advise on the matter.

“I really have you to thank for that”, Ink said and - Dust might just have imagined the blush on the other's face, because it was pretty dark around.

“On that note”, Dust said, pulling forth the bundle he had abandoned next to himself the moment he sat down, “I brought something for you.”

“That really wasn't necessary!”, Ink said and, looking at him now, Dust knew that the blush was actually there, because there was no mistake in the glowing rainbow freckles covering Ink's face the moment he took the wrapped present.

“Well, yeah, but I saw this and it made me think of you”, Dust said, looking away awkwardly. “Well, now open it!”

“Oh, yeah, right!”

Ink impatiently tore through the wrappings to reveal two notebooks.

“Oh, notebooks”, Ink smiled happily. “I will treasure them! And with that I mean use them! Because you would scold me if I didn't, hehe.” Ink knew, they were probably just stolen from some AU Dust raided together with the gang Ink and his friends declared their enemies, but he was still flattered by the gesture.

“See, one of them is a regular notebook, you probably recognise from that first one I gave you”, Dust explained. “It made you so happy that I couldn't help but get you another one, since you told me you almost filled it up at this point. The other one is completely blank. That means, even the cover is blank. I thought you might like it, though, because that would give you more space to, uh, doodle.. things? Heh, I don't know, how-”

“It's perfect!”, Ink interrupted him. “I really like it! It's like, the thing I never knew I needed? I already want to start doodling! But.. it _is_ a notebook, so I should probably use it for notes, haha! I do want to fill the cover page though!”

“Well, I don't see what's stopping you?”, Dust asked.

“Getting sidetracked again!”, Ink laughed. “After all, we're here to spend some time together, not for you to just watch me draw.”

“Well, it is relaxing to watch you”, Dust told him.

Within seconds, the blushes were back on both of their faces.

“Thanks”, Ink said, smiling. He ended up storing the normal notebook in his inventory, keeping the blank one out. “I have a different idea though”, he said and lay down on his stomach next to Dust. “Explain the constellations to me again?”, he asked. “I'm afraid I still forget some of them and I'd love to use the opportunity of a new notebook to sketch them up and write down your explanations.”

Dust couldn't help getting flustered and excited at the same time. “You would actually like to listen to me talk about them?”, he asked, lying down on his back next to Ink, their faces next to each other.

“Of course!”, Ink exclaimed. “You're so passionate about them that you actually got me hooked for good now!”

“Well, okay”, at this point, Dust didn't believe he could blush any brighter, but he tried to play it off by just talking. “Let's get started then..”

They talked for hours, not even noticing how time flew by. Both of them had people waiting for them, but all of them just looked at each other, nodding with knowing smiles.


End file.
